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The Bracks Timor-Leste Governance Project
Save the Date: Drinks with The Hon. Steve Bracks AC
Hosted by:
John Ridley AM
August 8 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The Honourable Steve Bracks AC has made over fifty visits to Timor-Leste. His interest in Timor-Leste began during his tenure as Premier of Victoria when he visited the new nation in 2002 and 2003.
The Bracks Timor-Leste Governance Project was later formed and has helped develop the Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan, 2011-2030 – the culmination of over 70 public meetings and consultations led by Prime Minister Gusmao. It was launched in July 2011 and continues to frame the nation’s budget and development plans. It also provided advice in relation to: a sustainable retirement income scheme for civil servants; the development of a masterplan for sanitation and drainage in Dili; the development of the Dili Chamber of Commerce; the Balibo House Trust and the Balibo Fort Hotel social enterprise project.
Steve Bracks was Premier of Victoria for almost eight years (1999-2007). He now advises several leading Australian finance and service sector corporations. He was appointed Chancellor of Victoria University in May 2021. Mr. Bracks chairs Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Trust, the AFL Strategic Community Investment Fund Advisory Board, and The Shannon Company. He chaired the Cbus Superannuation Fund from 2009 to 2021. He is a member of the Australian Republican Movement’s Republican Advisory Panel. Mr. Bracks is an honorary chair of the Trade Union Education Foundation and was an honorary adviser to the former Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmao from 2007 to 2017.
In October 2022, Mr. Bracks was appointed by the Albanese government as a special representative to help break an impasse involving East Timor and Woodside Energy over the stalled Greater Sunrise gas project.
He was awarded the Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste in May 2023, a rare award from Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, recognising his decades of work in the development and growth of one of the world’s youngest countries.
Mr Bracks received a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2010 for services to the Parliament and community of Victoria. In 2011 he was presented with the Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by Ballarat and Deakin Universities.
He remains a leading advocate for both multiculturalism and Aboriginal reconciliation.
It is a privilege to have the Honourable Steve Bracks AC lead this conversation for members, potential members and guests on the Bracks Timor-Leste Governance Project and other insights on Timor-Leste.